Draymond Green was fired for taking matters into his own hands — well, his arms — on Tuesday.
Golden State Warriors big man and teammate Klay Thompson and Minnesota Timberwolves forward Jayden McDaniels were ejected from an NBA championship game after an altercation that broke out within the first two minutes.
The brawl started when Thompson and McDaniels started pulling and pushing each other in transition. Wolves midfielder Rudy Gobert moved to pull Thompson down, but was caught in turn by Green, who put the 7-footer in a headlock and violently pulled him away for seven seconds.
Thompson and McDaniels were both assessed a double technical, while Green had 2 flagrant fouls, all automatic ejections. The score was still 0-0.
This may not be the end of the consequences for Green, who could face suspension in the coming days. More replays weren’t kind to the idea that he was just trying to keep the peace:
One of the underrated moments in this clip was Timberwolves big man Karl-Anthony Towns trying to give Green a taste of his own medicine while taking him out on Gobert without getting any buy, as Green kept his chin down like a veteran MMA fighter.
It was the 18th ejection, including the postseason, of Green’s career, increasing his lead among active NBA players. He got his 17th sending off last weekend, but under even more questionable circumstances.
Meanwhile, Thompson doesn’t seem to agree with his firing:
The Timberwolves won 104-101 to take a 2-0 lead in Western Conference C on the season. Warriors 1-1.
after the game, Crew chief Tyler Ford told a pool reporter Green was rated a blatant 2 because he “aggressively put Gobert in a bind and refused to let go. This is unnecessary and excessive behavior.” Gobert was not disciplined because he “was trying to separate Thompson and McDaniels and was ruled a peacemaker.”
Meanwhile, both teams had a lot to say after the game about the altercation with McDaniels who claimed he was… “Just trying to defend myself” And the Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Gobert put his hands on Thompson’s neckWhich prompted Green to respond. Kerr also defended Thompson, saying he should not have been fired.
Joubert described Green’s behavior as “clown behavior.”
Rudy Gobert several times referred to Draymond Green’s stranglehold on him as “clown behavior.” He said he just wanted to keep calm, keep his hands up and not respond because he knew the Wolves needed him to stay in the game. He said he thought Draymond was going to do something with Steph out
– Chris Hine (@ChristopherHine) November 15, 2023
The Warriors started the game without Stephen Curry, who will be sidelined with right knee soreness. Within 10 seconds, they had lost the other two members of their long trio, with at least 46 minutes left to play.
There is some past history between Green and Gobert, though there’s no telling if any of it was on Green’s mind Tuesday. At the start of last season, Gobert subtly bashed Green after the latter reportedly punched then-teammate Jordan Paul during practice, writing, “Insecurity is always loud“.
Green saw it clearly and remembered it, six months later, He tweeted the same four words In response to Gobert punching his teammate.
“Alcohol enthusiast. Twitter ninja. Tv lover. Falls down a lot. Hipster-friendly coffee geek.”